Aerohive Networks is Positioned in the "Visionaries" Quadrant of the Magic Quadrant for Wireless LAN Infrastructure

SUNNYVALE, Calif., March 4, 2011 - Aerohive Networks, creators of the award-winning cooperative control wireless LAN (WLAN) architecture, announced today that it has been positioned by Gartner, Inc. in the "Visionaries" quadrant of the 2011 Magic Quadrant for Wireless LAN Infrastructure (Global), (1) Vendors were evaluated based on their ability to execute and completeness of vision.

News Facts

According to the report, a "vendor in the Visionaries quadrant demonstrates an ability to increase features in its offering to provide a unique and differentiated approach to the market. A visionary will have contributed innovations in one or more of the key areas of WLAN technologies (e.g., convergence, security, management or operational efficiency).” Innovation is weighted highly by Gartner in evaluating a vendor's completeness of vision.

The report notes, “The look and feel of controllers continues to change. Since the introduction of controller-based architectures, most vendors use a separate appliance; however, the hardware has slowly been transformed (subsumed into blades or appliances), or, in some cases, has vanished. Although the structured network functionality still exists, the physical controller has disappeared into the cloud, virtualized into an upstream server or integrated into one or more access points. In addition to lower-priced access points, these new solutions continue to reduce the total cost of ownership (TCO) for WLAN connectivity at the edge of the network”.

The report continues: "For many enterprises that are deploying access points, wireless connectivity is mission-critical. This means that site planning and support play critical roles in ensuring that WLANs are installed properly to address business issues, from capacity to transaction density, upfront, rather than waiting for a problem to occur. Overlapping coverage, dual-homed access points and mesh networking capabilities are providing multiple paths for robust communication at the edge. Proactive tools, such as network management knowledgebases, spectrum analysis and client health monitoring, are playing a larger role to ensure that the WLAN continues to perform to its optimum level once it's installed.”

Aerohive's cooperative control WLAN access points (HiveAPs) require no network controllers or overlay networks. Instead, software in the HiveAPs enables them to self-organize into groups called Hives. The result is enterprise-class network management and security without the cost, performance, and availability issues associated with controller-based deployments. Cooperative control eliminates the controller as a single point of failure, making the system more reliable. It also increases performance by eliminating the data bottleneck that controllers create - especially in 802.11n networks where increased bandwidth can cause choke points at the controller.

Comments

"We believe being positioned in the 'Visionaries' quadrant of the Magic Quadrant, is affirmation of our controller-less WLAN architecture, and is an indicator of the future of WLANs," said David Flynn, chief executive officer, Aerohive. "Aerohive's pioneering architecture eliminates the need for WLAN controllers and facilitates cloud-enabled networking to provide customers with high-performance, highly-reliable, scalable, secure, and cost-effective wireless solutions. Aerohive’s solutions deliver the visibility and control required by enterprises to maximize the productive use of mobile internet devices and the cost effective deployment and management of Wi-Fi as the primary access layer.”

About the Magic Quadrant
The Magic Quadrant is copyrighted 2011 by Gartner, Inc. and is reused with permission. The Magic Quadrant is a graphical representation of a marketplace at and for a specific time period. It depicts Gartner's analysis of how certain vendors measure against criteria for that marketplace, as defined by Gartner. Gartner does not endorse any vendor, product or service depicted in the Magic Quadrant, and does not advise technology users to select only those vendors placed in the "Leaders" quadrant. The Magic Quadrant is intended solely as a research tool, and is not meant to be a specific guide to action. Gartner disclaims all warranties, express or implied, with respect to this research, including any warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.

About Aerohive Networks
Aerohive unleashes the potential of enterprise Wi-Fi, enabling customers to stop buying copper, to move applications to the air, and to maximize workforce productivity. The company's award-winning cooperative architecture and cloud-based network management eliminate costly controllers, saves money and provides unprecedented resiliency, up to 10X better application performance, and an opportunity to start small and expand without limitations. Aerohive was founded in 2006 and is headquartered in Sunnyvale, Calif. The company's investors include Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Lightspeed Venture Partners, and Northern Light Venture Capital. For more information, please visit www.aerohive.com, call us at 408-510-6100, follow us on Twitter @Aerohive, subscribe to our blog or become a fan on our Facebook page.